Against the Current
by MissMonsters2
Summary: Dealing with the heartbreak Alice left in her wake, Bella finds herself entangled deeper within the Volturi more than she means to. With a revolution on hand, things are not as they always seem. Trying to find her place, Bella finds she will need to face the music sooner than she wished for with Alice. Sequel to Just to Love Her. Sporadic Updates
1. Chapter 1 - BELLA

Chapter One: BELLA

I could see more stars in Italy than Forks, but I think my enhanced vision helped a lot. I missed being able to sleep and pass the time that way. Sometimes, if I lay down, close my eyes, and become still, I can get into a dream-like state. I can spend time day-dreaming about my past life, maybe my future, or about nothing.

Today though, I can't seem to get myself to be still. Jane has left for a mission, so I've been waiting for her to come back.

It's been four months since I arrived at the Volterra. I hadn't made any attempt to contact the Cullens, even when some of them showed up as their obligatory visit to the three kings. Aro did not bring me up, knowing that I did not wish to see them and honored it as I'm sure he doesn't want me to leave either. Since Aro did not bring it up, the Cullens did not bring it up either.

The only thing I knew is that even though I left, they still carried out the plan of my death, revealing it to Charlie. Jane was nice enough to look into it for me. She went to my funeral in my place, keeping a distance so that the Cullens would not realize she was there.

She told me in the way I knew she was being as kind as she could that Charlie had been absolutely devastated, and Renee could not stop crying at my funeral.

Apparently, Jacob and the wolves were ready to start a fight with the Cullens for "not keeping me safe" while I was away.

Thankfully, they did not reveal to him that I was still alive, just now turned into the being he genetically hates.

"Ugh," I groaned frustratedly as I wasn't able to get into my trance state. I sighed, giving up and just relaxed as best I could in my bed.

I still remembered my first day when I arrived, a depressed mess, clinging onto Jane for my own sanity.

"_Ah, Jane, my dear. You've returned…and you've brought someone." Aro said gleefully, taking a look at me._

_I said nothing as Jane led us forward, my finger holding her cape slightly._

"_Aro, I've returned from my mission with the Cullens. As you can see, this is Isabella Swan, and she was successfully changed." Jane grabs my hand and pulls me forward to present myself. I saw into Aro's blood-red eyes and felt myself tremble slightly from being so nervous. I looked back at Jane, and she gave me a reassuring nod._

_I turned back and took a deep breath._

"_Hello," I said softly. "It is nice to see you again, Aro. I've come with Jane seeking to stay here for a while if you allow."_

_Aro squeals almost too excitedly as he claps his hands. Caius rolls his eyes, and I notice Marcus focusing intently on me and then Jane._

"_Say no more; you are most welcomed to stay. If I may, I would like to test your gift once more."_

_I nodded, holding out my hand as Aro grasps it. He smiles eerily once more and laughs._

"_As I predicted, I see nothing. Jane, dear." He holds his hand out to Jane, who offers her own without hesitation. I watched as Aro's expectant face turns into confusion, a curiosity forming over him._

"_I see…nothing." Everyone in the room was surprised, even Jane herself. I was confused until I remembered Eleazar telling me about my powers when we met._

"_I'm sorry, that's probably because of me," I said, watching as everyone turned their heads to me. I sheepishly grab onto Jane's cape again._

"_I'm told I'm a mental shield and can shield myself and apparently others as well. I can't control it very well as a newborn. I'm most likely projecting it onto Jane as we've spent a lot of time together."_

_Aro's smile widens at my explanation, giddy once more._

"_Ah, well, how very special of you, Bella. In that case, then why don't you both tell me what happened?"_

_Jane basically reports all that happens, leaving out the details about Alice and I. In turn, I explain to Aro that I'm merely looking for some space from the Cullens, not really divulging why but Aro is happy enough that I'm here that he doesn't press. I asked that he doesn't inform the Cullens where I am if they come looking to which he agrees with ease._

"_Well, Isabella, I am more than happy to provide you shelter here and no worries on your privacy. My only request is that you get training from Felix to help you control your gift."_

_I nodded, agreeing to it. Aro pardons us, telling Jane to provide me a room. As we walk away, I look over my shoulder to see Marcus, watching me with wonderment, probably the most emotions he's ever expressed._

Returning back to reality, I hear banging outside, far down the hallway. Knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to reach my trance state today, I decided to go check it out. In the time I've been here, I've made no attempt to leave my room other than hunting. Meaning, I've made no attempt to meet Felix and get training.

I've spent four months metaphorically crying about Alice.

Leaving the room, I find that the hallway is mostly empty. I bump into a few people who give me side looks but make no effort into talking with me. I notice for the first time that the architecture here is very old and roman renaissance looking. It's like a large colosseum church.

As I make my way through, the banging and grunts become louder. Suddenly, the door a couple of feet away from me breaks open, wood flying everywhere, and I have to dodge to the left to avoid colliding with the vampire who broke through it.

Once everything settles, I look curiously over and find a boy, who looks no older than 20, groaning from the floor. Footsteps come out from the room the vampire flew out of out, and I find myself staring at a man who clearly was well-kept, just younger than Carlisle in terms of looks.

"Lucus, as you can see, even a millisecond of being distracted can be disastrous for you. Keep your focus on your opponent, no matter what is happening around you."

The young vampire gets up, nodding before heading back into the room. The man is also about to leave, but he notices him standing to the side.

He turns, facing me fully.

"You must be Isabella," he greets, clearing scoping my worth. I don't move or reply, which leads him to smirk.

"I am Felix. Come," he starts. "You should join us while you're out here anyway."

Remembering how Aro's condition for me staying here was to train under Felix, I reluctantly follow him.

Inside the room was an actual Colosseum, the open roof, and everything. I find myself staring at four other vampires in the room.

"These are all new trainees, newborns like you. Let's see what you've got, Isabella. Try a mock fight with Aria over there." He nods his heads over to a tall blonde who looks majorly unimpressed with me. I can't help but feel irked, which is new to me because, as a human, I did not find myself confrontational with others.

Aria comes stands in front of me, holding her hand out immediately as soon as Felix yells 'START!'

I'm sure whatever she was doing was meant for me to be immobilized by her gift, but clearly, she did not get the memo that I was a shield and so, nothing happened. When Aria realized that her gift wasn't going to work, she quickly switched to physically fighting me and went straight into trying to punch me in the face.

As a vampire and a newborn at it, my reflexes were incredibly quick, and I was able to dodge Aria's attacks. Even though I would try to throw my own punches and kicks, Aria was also a newborn, so her reflexes were about just as good as mine.

Aria eventually gained the upper hand as I have no combat experiences, and she ultimately outmaneuvered and out-strategized me. The kick hurt the same as it would've when I was a human and another human kicked me, but I was taken back from the lack of blood or bruising. Aria doesn't bother helping me up, but the guy next to her offers his hand to me. I take it, giving him a small smile, he returns. Felix seems to be assessing me; he looks neither impressed or unimpressed.

He stands in front of me, walking around me in a full circle. "Your reflexes are good; I suspect they'll stay just as good after the newborn phase fades away. You will train with me for the rest of the time; you will learn to strategize as we go."

I nodded. Everyone seems to partner off and start their mock battles while I face Felix. Without a doubt, he kicks my ass every single time. The first twenty battles were just straight-up embarrassing as he was able to take me down three seconds flat. After that, I was able to increase how long I could stand up against him slowly.

By the fiftieth battle, I could only last less than seven seconds. I actually felt tired—exhausted, really, and fed up.

"Felix," I say exasperated and frustratedly.

"Why do we keep doing this? It's clear that I won't be able to last against you any more than seven seconds today. I thought I was supposed to be learning how to use my gift."

Felix stands up straight and raises his brow at me. He doesn't answer but calls over the same guy who had helped me up earlier today after Aria beating the other vampire who I saw bust through the room initially and me.

"Isabella, this is Lucus and William. William has the gift to numb your entire body as if you're sinking in quicksand. William will use his gift; your task is to make sure to shield yourself, me, and Lucus." Felix gives me this task, but I have no fucking idea how I'm supposed to do that.

Felix gives me another smile.

"Focus, Isabella. During the beginning, it may be easier for you to imagine physically manifesting this shield and extending it."

I look over at Lucus, who gives me a nod. Closing my eyes and doing as Felix instructed, I tried to imagine a giant bubble, casting over Felix, Lucas, and myself. When I opened my eyes, I couldn't see anything, but there was something different about the air around us. Felix seemed to realize that I had activated my gift and turned to William with a nod. The man, in turn, starts eyeing all of us, and I catch on that he's trying to use his gift on all of us. My eyebrows shot up in surprise, and I was impressed he could do it on all three of us, or try to. I become conscious of the fact that he's been training a lot longer than me, but despite that, I was holding on my own quite well. There was a subtle push I felt against me, but nothing beyond that. I looked over at Felix and Lucus, who were also unaffected, and I felt proud, almost cocky at the fact.

The first three minutes in, I held up well, but William wasn't breaking a sweat either. Four minutes in, I began to feel tired, even though I had not moved. The shield I was keeping up began to waver, and William seemed to realize it immediately and aggressively pushed forward with his gift. Within seconds, my shield completely fell, and all of us began sinking to the ground. William stopped using his gift.

Felix was the first to get up, looking over to me with his eyebrow raised. "As you can see, Isabelle, not even five minutes in, and you were forced to drop your shield. Vampires do not feel tired in a sense. We don't need to sleep, but your body still requires training to build stamina. Building your physical strength increases your stamina and, in turn, enables you to use your gift effectively."

I nodded, dusting my shirt off, trying not to let my bruised ego hurt too much. Felix quirked his lips at me.

"That enough for today, come see me again tomorrow, Isabella."

I nodded once more, catching eyes with everyone in the room briefly before exiting. I couldn't believe how tired I was, and it didn't help my ass got beat so many times.

As I sauntered down the corridors, I noticed that it was already nighttime. It felt really peaceful. I only wished Jane was back from her mission to enjoy the walk with me. I briefly thought about how grateful I was to Jane for keeping me grounded through everything. I definitely would've gone crazy if Jane didn't give me her companionship. Crazy wouldn't even be able to describe me, and I was batshit insane when I first came here. Even people calling me Bella would give me PTSD.

I hated the name Isabella, but I suppose it wasn't awful when Jane said it. She had a slight accent and purr when she called my name, and it felt oddly good. It occurred to me thinking about Jane that I actually haven't met her brother. Maybe I should ask when she comes back since I've left my room and done the first day of training.

I continued to walk until I spotted someone further down the hallway, but I couldn't see who it was as the shadow of the pillar hid them. The person on the other end stopped for a quick second before striding out of the shadow. It was someone I remember briefly seeing when I had first arrived.

Chelsea, I believe her name was. I tried to recall more details. I remembered the Cullens telling me as she made her way right towards me.

"Good evening…Isabella, right?" She greeted softly, but there was a sharp look in her eyes that felt off with me. I gave her a slight nod to respond to her.

She came closer, giving me a smirk. "How do you like your stay so far? It's the first I have seen you." She was edging around the fact that I've been here a while but haven't left my room.

"It's great," I offered curtly. My eyes darted slowly to the side, thinking if now was an appropriate time to excuse myself and leave, but Chelsea started speaking again.

"That's good…we hope you stay for a long time." She dragged it out, looking intensely at me. I wasn't really sure what she was doing, and the longer the time passed, the more awkward I felt. She scrunched her eyebrows together, and I was just about to excuse myself when there was a voice behind me.

"What do you think you're doing?"

I turned my head around and saw Jane standing there. She was finally back from her mission.

And she looked pissed. She was looking at Chelsea as she walked closer and I looked at Chelsea, who appeared annoyed. I guess they're not close.

"Oh, Jane, you're back. Lovely. I'm just getting to know Isabella here. Nothing wrong with that, is there?" Chelsea drawled as she gave a Cheshire grin.

If it bothered Jane, she didn't show it. Instead, she raised her eyebrow at the other woman. "Don't do anything unnecessary without orders, Chelsea. The last time Aro had me punish you was annoying."

Instantly, Chelsea clenched her jaw and looked as if she wanted to retort but changed her mind last second. Looking over at me one more time, she pushed past us and stalked off. When she was gone entirely, Jane turned towards me.

"You have left your room."

I nodded with a small smile.

"Did you have a good day?"

I contemplated it before deciding that it wasn't awful and nodded again. Jane seemed to accept my answer as satisfactory and nodded herself. She looked at me once more.

"Don't let yourself get caught alone with Chelsea."

I quickly nodded once more, agreeing with Jane wholeheartedly. There was just something off about that woman, so I had no problem staying away from her.

Looking out the windows, Jane sighed softly. "It's quite nice outside. Since you have resolved to leave your room, it would be a shame to end it so early. Would you like to go somewhere with me?"

I looked at her curiously before nodding. Jane quirked her lips, "Alright, meet me outside the corridors, and I will find you. I must report to Aro briefly."

It was a beautiful night out, and I thought before Jane had shown up next to me. Reporting to Aro still took longer as I was unable to control my gift; thus, Jane would have to relay in great detail about her missions.

"Follow me," Jane said before taking off. I followed quickly after her. The thing that still amazed me sometimes as a vampire was that I could run so fast. To go to places that would usually take hours would be shorted by me, running.

I could tell Jane was trying to egg me on to racing her. As a newborn, she was very helpful in helping me cope with my newfound powers. Even though I was stronger and faster than her at the moment, she really knew how to ground me when I was on the verge of a tantrum.

God, I would've been so lost without Jane. I couldn't even imagine how I would've coped.

Eventually, we slowed down, and Jane had led me to a gorgeous lake. It was quite late at night, so no one else was out, and it was dark.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Lake Garda, about 4 hours from Tuscany...by drive."

I chuckled, still following Jane. She motioned me to stay here before she zipped off and then came back with a canoe boat. Tossing the boat into the raft, we both got in, and Jane pushed us off.

I sighed in relaxation of floating aimlessly, gazing at the stars with Jane.

"Aro tells me you've trained with Felix today. How did you find it?" Jane says, breaking the silence. I looked over to see her sitting on the floor but leaning against the seat ledge. She was beginning to take her hair out of its bun, and I felt my stomach coil tightly.

"Um, well, I got my ass kicked. Repeatedly." I said, staring at the tresses flowing out.

Jane smirked.

"But I guess it gave me something to do. I will most likely continue to see him until I can get everything under control. I'm sure it's tedious to report every detail to Aro."

Jane snorted, agreeing with me.

"I'm glad you are leaving your room. Perhaps soon I can introduce my brother to you."

"Alec?" I asked, recalling what Jane said his name was. She nodded, trying to lean back a little more like I was, but she was very stiff.

"Yes, he will be back from his mission soon. He will be pleased as he's been wanting to meet you since you've arrived."

I had the audacity to at least look a little sheepish.

"You should prepare," Jane said, giving up on trying to slump like me and sat up straight.

"For?" I asked with a raise of my brow.

Jane then moved to sit on the canoe seat while I made a move to in on the floor in front of her.

"I believe Aro told me that the Cullens will be visiting again. They're quite adamant that we know where you are, which they are not wrong," Jane said with a smirk.

The news made me bite my tongue. I was already on the verge of wanting to throw a tantrum and say no, the Cullens cannot visit, and I will hide away when they do.

But Jane came closer, lifting one of her hands to grab a lock of hair between her fingers gently.

"Relax, Isabella."

I took a deep unneeded breath, suppressing the overwhelming emotion. I put my head into Jane's lap and closed my eyes. I felt her stroke the side of my head, and I sighed in contentment. I liked being alone with Jane when there was no one else around us. She would let me do as I please, and she would be gentle.

"I just...I know I need to be brave," I said against her thigh. "I just...don't want to feel like they're going to make me leave with them."

Jane brushed some of the hair away from my face. "As I've said, Isabella. I will not allow anyone to make you do anything you do not want."

Another breath of contentment left me. In times like this, I wished I could fall asleep. I did let my guard down, knowing that as always, I could bask in Jane's protection.

* * *

**A/N:** Ah, the awaited sequel has finally arrived. I have some news! This will most likely be anywhere between 10-20 chapters, depending on how things progress. Sporadic updates as well.

**With that, this is going to be my final Twilight Fanfiction. For now, I will not be writing any more Twilight fics after this in the upcoming future. I may come back to it, but I don't really foresee see that currently. I am so honored and blessed to have written a story that many have enjoyed. For everyone who's been along with me every step of the way, I love you!

**Next Time on ATC: Bella takes control of her training, spends some time with Marcus, who enlightens her, and confrontation with the Cullens.**


	2. Chapter 2 - BELLA

**Chapter Two: BELLA**

"Good...you are doing good, Isabella. Just like that, focus."

I clenched my jaw, focusing on Felix's words. My muscles felt strained, and I felt exhausted, but it felt _good_.

Minutes after, I released a breath, my shield dropping. Felix slowly clapped for me, walking up towards me with a proud smile.

"Excellent, Isabella. You have improved much since you've first come to see me. You've gone from being to hold up your shield less than 5 minutes to now over an hour. God forbid any fight last longer than that, though." He laughed at the end, causing me to grin as well.

It's been almost three months since I've started training with Felix. I see him every day for training to make up for what I've missed when I was holed away in my room. I think he has taken an interest in me as a prodigy, as he will do private sessions with me along with group sessions.

I nodded, feeling almost lightheaded from the training. He looked at me and caught the fatigue right away. Felix walked away, grabbing something within the fridge before coming back and tossing it at me.

I caught it and saw that it was a blood bag. I smiled gratefully at him, tearing into the bag and drinking it aggressively to help me recover.

"I'm not sure why you don't just drink the real thing," Felix commented offhandedly, watching me drink the bag.

I finished the bag pretty quickly, licked my lips, and throwing the bag away.

I shrugged in response, "I'm just...not interested in having that experience. This is enough for me."

Since coming to the Volturi, I had struggled with my diet a lot. Jane didn't force me to conform to their diet and had even taken me to a hunting area for animals.

It was more difficult to feed on animals in Italy, I found. I noticed that I had to feed a lot more than what Jane did. It was just me, and I felt like I was depleting their animal source here. It was hurting the environment because I couldn't just eat small animals, and the humans were noticing a large number of missing animals.

I was causing problems, but I couldn't feed in humans. Ever since the first time I tried, I could feel venom rise in my throat in disgust.

I had tried to feed less, but I was really just starving myself. It was apparent to Jane with the frenzy I was in, trying to drink less blood.

And then there was a day she had enough.

_"Isabella, you are driving yourself insane trying to control your diet like this!" Jane snapped at me when I argued with her once more about how I can't drink anymore, or I would wreck the nearby environment, and the humans were noticing their food supply dying._

_I couldn't even reply with the hunger gnawing in the back of my throat. Jane had initially tried to drag to feed on a human she brought in, but when I refused, breaking my own fingers and focusing on my own pain than feed on the human, Jane quickly gave up on the idea._

_She had left in my room, and she was gone for an hour before she returned again. This time, a blood bag in hand._

_I watched her through my blurry vision. I could smell it through the bag with how the thirst burned. _

_I could instantly tell it was human blood. I growled involuntarily and forced my head to turn away. _

_"Stop," I told Jane, but she pressed on._

_"Drink it, Isabella," Jane said, a little forcefully._

_"I told you, I will not drink human blood," I told her in return, clenching my eyes shut._

_Jane made a move to grab my arm and turn me around, backing me until I fell backward onto my bed and her on top of me._

_"Isabella, _please_," she finally pleaded. "You are ruining yourself like this. You will not feed what you need from animals, and you will not feed directly from humans. This is the best compromise I could find."_

_I tried to struggle, but in my hunger, I was too weak. I could barely move, let alone push a vampire who was older and more experienced than me. I finally looked at the blood bag in her hand._

_"Where did you get it?" I asked. I thought about the human she had brought me into the foyer. The last thing I needed was to find out Jane killed the human and just bagged his blood for me to drink, so I didn't have to do it myself._

_Jane sighed. "I went to the hospital with Chelsea. I have negotiated them to send us blood bag supplies that will not use or are soon to be expired. This is human blood, willingly given by the person. It doesn't kill them or change them. So, per favore, Isabella, drink it."_

_The logic made insane sense to me. I could feed less this way and not hurt anyone. _

_Jane could tell that I had stopped resisting, but too weak to move on my own. She sighed in relief, getting off me and pulled me to sit up. Tearing the blood bag open in the corner, she gently put the bag against my lip and tipped it upwards._

_The moment the blood hit my lips, my hands went up to grip the bag, drinking from it greedily. Jane had another bag prepared for me when I quickly finished the first. _

_The second bag was going as quickly as the first, but I feel clarity returning to me, the burning thirst going away._

_When I finished, I sighed, looking at Jane, who was looking at me with an amused expression with her eyebrow raised. She reached over and used her thumb to gently wipe the blood that had escaped my mouth and dripped down my throat._

_Her eyes darkened slightly as she looked into my eyes. _

_Taking her thumb, she put it against her lips and licked it clean._

_My stomach tightened again, and I felt an unfamiliar heat flare-up._

_"Very good, Isabella," she said, staring at me a moment longer before turned around and left._

"Alright, you are filled up, let's get to the next part of the training. Show me you've been practicing your fighting."

Felix's voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I watched him get into a stance and then mirroring him the same with a small smirk.

I was going to kick his ass today.

* * *

I did _not_ kick his ass today, but I was holding my own way better each day. I feel like Felix enjoyed our spar sessions. It was definitely new to him.

Jane was currently busy handling some errands for Aro, but we were supposed to meet up later, and she was to introduce me to Alec.

I wasn't too sure what I was going to do. I really need to figure that out because I couldn't just spend my entire day with Felix training when I had nothing to do because Jane wasn't around. I would spend time with Demetri, but I actually haven't seen him since I've come here. Jane says he's on a long mission.

I wandered the halls once more, but this time was opting to leave the castle walls through the back. As being on the Volturi property, I didn't have to worry about being seen in the sun. I've only gone through this path once, so I wasn't too familiar with it. As I got deeper, I noticed more plants and trees. I turned the corner and nearly jumped, seeing Marcus there.

I have barely seen The Three Kings since my stay, but out of all of them, I've seen Marcus the least.

He turned his head barely to glance at me.

"Oh," I stammered. "I'm sorry...I didn't know..."

Marcus put his hand up slightly to signal that it was fine. He didn't say anything else, but I looked around and realized that I was in his garden Jane told me about.

"It is alright, Isabella," Marcus said, resuming his watering. "Come, sit. I hear you have started to join the outside world."

I chuckled, albeit kind of awkwardly. Jesus, clearly everyone noticed I was being a moping teenager. I started to wonder if I was always this dramatic, or was this the newborn phase.

"Are you planting gardenias? I love gardenias," I softly said to him.

Marcus let out a dry rasp chuckle, "You are an interesting one, Isabella."

"Because I love gardenias?" I said ineloquently.

Marcus just gave a small smile. "You remind me of her."

I briefly remembered Jane telling me that Marcus did have a mate, but she was killed long ago. What was her name again?

Didyme.

"Didyme loved gardenias; they matched her eyes."

I wasn't really sure what to say as I didn't know how to comfort Marcus, and I knew nothing of this woman.

"She had a way of making everyone around her happier, could make them love her without her powers."

You only offer him a small smile as she cuts one of the gardenias out to give to you.

"She sounds lovely," I tell him sincerely. Marcus gave me a half-turned smile in return.

"We are alike, you and I," Marcus tells me as he turns back to tending to his garden.

"Us?" I asked confusedly, trying to make any sort of connections from me to his old vampire.

He chuckled dryly, "You may not know it like me, but you know loss."

There was a harsh pang in my chest as I understood what he was saying.

"It's like a hole," Marcus muses. "When you meet someone that just _fits_ you in every way possible, it's like a hole that can never be filled."

He turns to me, sympathy in his eyes. "Isabella, I'm going to be honest with you. This is the only advice I can offer you as someone in a similar situation to me. You understand my gift is to see relationships between humans or vampires, correct?"

I nod cautiously.

"Your string is still tied to Alice," Marcus tells me. My breath hitches because if Alice were done with me, the line would've been cut.

"That being said, being with her will cause you immense pain. You will constantly encounter hardships and trials to be together."

I blinked at Marcus told me this. It doesn't sound too promising to be with Alice.

"But you will never be able to love anyone the way you love Alice. You will never experience the heart wrenching, butterfly consuming, fireworks, the desperation and love that brings you to your _knees _with anyone else. So, if you're trying to look for that again, stop."

It seriously felt like someone had punched me in the gut, my eyes watering with venom as he told me this. God, it sounded fucking hopeless.

Marcus sighed, placing his hand on my shoulder, causing me to look up at him.

"But it is not all lost. Sometimes that is not the love you may wish to pursue again. There's someone else. To be with them can bring you happiness, security, a warmth. It would be safe."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as Marcus told me this. Why was he saying it like I already had someone in my life like that?

"What?" I asked dumbly. "Are you saying I have someone like that already?"

Marcus nodded, "Yes, I'm surprised you haven't noticed. You gravitate towards her, just as she to you."

I opened my mouth, but no words came out. It dawned on me so fast that I felt like my world was turning again.

"Are you..." I choked. "Are you saying Jane is a possibility?"

He nodded once.

I put my hand to my forehead, eyes wide, my mind just swirling.

Jane?

I could have a happy future with...Jane?

My thoughts were going a mile a minute.

Did I even see Jane like that?

My mind immediately said yes.

But...

"Jane doesn't see me like that," I said to Marcus, a finality to my tone.

He merely cocked his eyebrow at me. He was about to say something else when I felt another presence in the garden. I looked over to see Jane standing there, looking thoroughly unhappy.

"Isabella," she called to me. "The Cullens have arrived earlier than they had announced. They're in the foyer, this time adamant about seeing you as they're quite sure you're here."

I sighed, dread rising in my heart as I got up. As the Cullens were here, Marcus would also need to be there for them to greet him.

As we approached Jane, she let me pass her, and she walked by Marcus.

"Do not say anything unnecessary," I heard Jane say to him, to which he merely huffed and shuffled on.

* * *

I was getting more anxious as we approached the throne room, but Jane walked beside me, her finger barely grazing my own.

I felt myself flush from my earlier conversation with Marcus but willed myself not to move my hand.

We stood in front of the big doors with Marcus in front of us. He kindly stayed in the same spot for a moment so I could take a deep breath. I could already hear Carlisle's voice on the other side of the door.

Marcus peered at me subtly, and once I nodded my head, he pushed the doors open. I didn't immediately see him as Marcus' large frame shielded me.

"Marcus," I could Carlisle's voice as he greeted him. "It has been a while, old friend."

Marcus raised his brow at the blond man. "Hardly, Carlisle. You were here a few months ago."

Carlisle merely chuckled, albeit a little awkwardly. "Yes, I suppose you are right. We have reason to believe that Bella is really here at the Volturi."

Marcus didn't say anything, didn't even move. I closed my eyes, clenching my fist together as before unclenching them, and stepped around Marcus to reveal myself.

There were several gasps, but the first thing I noticed was that the family was smaller. It was only Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett.

"Oh, Bella," Esme said, looking so relieved to see me and rushing in to hug me. I put my arms around her, rubbing her back to comfort her. When she let go, I was immediately crushed into another hug. The scent let me know that it was Rosalie who was hugging me.

"You fucking idiot," she said, but I knew that she was merely relieved to see me. Of course, Emmett grabbed me and spun me around a couple of times.

When they put me down, Carlisle scrunched his eyes as he saw mine.

"Are you on the...human diet?" He asked. I felt myself recoil slightly at his tone, and Jane immediately came to my defense.

"It would be none of your business, Carlisle. She is under the Volturi's house; she is free to drink whatever she wishes." Jane glared at him, which caused Rosalie to glare at Jane.

Before anything could escalate further, Aro clapped his hands.

"Jane, dear, don't antagonize our guests. Carlisle, Bella is drinking from a blood bag donated by the hospitals here. Jane had set it up for her as Bella was running into issues with the animal population here and refused to drink from a human directly." He grinned so wide that I had to resist cringing as it was so creepy.

"Well," Aro's smooth voice said again. "I see you all have a lot of catching up to do. We will leave you to it. Carlisle, come see me in my study before you leave."

The blond leader nodded once before we all left the room. I walked them to the room I was staying in, letting them all in before I walked in.

Jane was about to leave to give us privacy, but I grabbed her arm with a desperation look in my eyes.

"Stay," I told her quietly. I couldn't do this without her. Jane sighed but nodded, walking into the room and standing in the corner.

Rosalie looked like she wanted to say something, but they had all heard me ask Jane to stay.

"How are you, dear?" Esme asked to break the tension.

I shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

"What the hell happened, Bella? You disappear for months after leaving that voicemail? We were so fucking worried, you asshole." Rosalie said, cutting to the chase. I wince at her tone, which caused Jane to glare at Rosalie, but she didn't say anything.

I sighed, taking a seat on my bed as I faced everyone.

"She came that night to change me. She told me to _chose _me, that she wanted to be together," I started, still unable to say her name.

"But she was gone when I woke up. She left me a shitty note saying she was sorry and ran off, abandoning me." I could feel the anger and betrayal rising in me as I spoke about it.

"You don't have any idea where she is?" Carlisle asked, his voice soft.

I glared at the wall beside me. "No, I don't, and I don't want to. Shouldn't you know?"

Carlisle sighed, rubbing his fingers over his eyes. "No, we haven't been able to get a hold of her since that night. We can't get in touch with Jasper, either."

"Great, I'm sure they're just on a prolonged honeymoon," I sneered.

Esme gave me a sad smile, and I had to look at Jane to take a deep breath and relax.

"Come home with us, Bella," Esme pleaded me, taking a seat next to me with her hand on my arm. "Whatever it is, we can figure it out together as a family."

This was what I had dreaded the most, that they would ask me to return. I looked over at Jane, who was silently asking if I wanted her to interfere. I seriously thought about it, but I decided against it knowing that it would only make Jane look like the villain keeping me here. Not that she cared.

I sighed, standing up and running my hand through my hair. I turned around to them all and shook my head.

"I'm not ready to return. To be honest, I don't know if I will ever be."

Rosalie frowned. "Why not? I know Alice fucked up, but we're your family too. Do we not mean shit to you?"

I could hear the hurt underlying in Rosalie's tone, and it did break my heart, knowing I was hurting her. I went up to her and kneeled before her as she was sitting down in a chair. I grabbed her hands tightly, getting her to look at me, desperate for her to understand.

"You mean so much to me, but it still _hurts_, Rose. I never thought someone could single-handedly build me up and destroy me." It felt like my throat was raw as I opened myself up to everyone in the room.

"I need space from everything that reminds me of her. I just...need time, to figure out who I am, without _her_. Do you understand?" I asked her, a hint of desperation and hopelessness in my tone.

Rosalie looked at me, pain in her eyes as she looked into mine and nodded tersely. Emmett put his hand on his wife's shoulder to comfort her.

"Hey, if anything, we all got a shitload of time now, so no problem there, Bella bear."

I couldn't help but chuckle at him, and he gave me a giant boyish grin.

With minimal catching up, I did promise them that I would get a phone so I could call and text them at least. They gave me their numbers so I could keep in touch with them once I did get a cell. They began to leave, Carlisle heading to Aro's study as he promised.

Rosalie was the last to leave my room. She pulled me into another tight hug, cupping the back of my neck. "Figure things out quickly, okay? I miss you. I will seriously fucking strangle her if I see her."

I softly chuckled and nodded as we let go. She kissed my cheek lightly and sighed once more before leaving out with Emmett, who gave me a firm hug.

Once everyone was gone, I went back into the room where Jane was and fell back onto the bed.

"How is it possible to feel exhausted?" I mumbled. Jane gave me an amused smirk.

"It's all mental, Isabella," she told me quietly. She regarded me for a few moments before she spoke again. "I am proud of you, Isabella. You faced a difficult situation and handled it well."

I smiled with my eyes closed, basking in Jane's praise.

My mind wandered back in the gardens with Marcus, the conversation floating through my mind. I made the split decision to reach out and grab Jane's hand, softly lacing my fingers with hers. She didn't react at first, but slowly after a moment, she held my hand tighter.

There was a warmth.

There were no butterflies.

There were no fireworks.

But there was warmth.

And maybe one day, that would be enough.

* * *

**Next time: Alice's POV from the end of JTLH**

**Replies:**

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** Bellice4evayespl: **Main characters will be an Original Female Character!Vampire, Steve, Natasha, Wanda. Endgame Femslash ship!

**Thanks again to everyone who is reading this! The comments made me so happy to read. Hope ya'll are excited to see Alice's POV. Leave a comment or favourite, or whatever! See you in two weeks :)**


	3. Chapter 3 - ALICE

Chapter Three: ALICE

_**Alaska. Pre-Vampire Bella.**_

I sat out on the tree, so distant from where Bella was.

My heart was hurting, but I licked my lips, smiling at Jasper, who was beside me.

He gave me a half-hearted smile, and we both sat in silence. It was always like that for us. No need for words as I could always see what he was planning, and he could see what I was feeling.

I couldn't help but think about how different it was with Bella.

How _explosive_ we were. Bella had a knack for being both careful with her decisions but also changing them last minute. She always kept me on my toes.

I couldn't help the sigh that came out of my mouth.

It was then that Jasper made the quick decision.

"Alice...I think we've reached the end of our chapter."

If I had a beating heart still, it would've stopped.

"Wait-Jas, I-" I stuttered, but he just smiled kindly with me, even though I could see the pain in his eyes.

"It's okay, Alice," Jasper breathed as if he could feel the physical pain in his chest. "I think we both know it's been over for a while."

I swallowed painfully because he's right. "But...it's just been us...for so long. How can I do that to you?"

Jasper merely shrugged.

"People shouldn't stay together just because a certain amount of time has passed."

"But I still love you," I said hoarsely.

"But you're _in_ love with Bella," Jasper said with a quiet smile.

His words hit me like a freight train because maybe that's true. I love Jasper, but I'm in love with Bella.

Maybe I always have been because when I think back to the beginning I know with Bella, I've always felt the pull to her.

I couldn't say anything, it felt like the words were stuck in my throat. I closed my eyes, venom coming up at the waterline. Jasper reached out and touched my hand softly, holding it.

"Be happy, Alice. Be so incredibly happy that it makes us being over worth it."

I nodded, smiling at him and kissing him once more softly on the corner of his mouth.

Then he was gone.

If I were human, I would've stayed longer to bawl my eyes out.

Jasper has been there for me for nearly my whole vampiric life. He was my first vision upon waking up.

I took a shuddering breath, running off to my happiness.

The happiness that I had pined for since meeting Bella. She was going to be mine.

My forever. 

* * *

I carefully cleaned Bella from the mess we had made for her change. I could hear the venom circulating in her blood, physically changing her.

It made my heart warm to know it was my venom.

Once I was satisfied with Bella, I walked off to take a look around the room.

I could smell Jane being in here, and it made me bristle. Bella didn't realize that Jane has left her scent nearly everywhere as if she was trying to mark her territory.

Once, I had her scent handled in addition to airing out the room, I went to shower, enjoying the hot water hitting my skin.

The first night passed peacefully, but I knew the second day would be the hardest for Bella with her bones breaking and structuring itself.

The next day, I held Bella's hand as she screamed in pain, wincing every time her bones cracked or an organ began to fail.

It broke my heart to see her in pain.

Small changes began to happen.

Her hair looked shinier, more luscious. The small imperfections of her skin were smoothing out, she was becoming paler.

My cool touch seemed to help Bella through the hot fire, so I tried to stay with her for as long as I could.

I was about to stand up to get a towel to wipe down Bella's skin again, maybe light her favorite candle to see if it would help when I was hit with a sudden vision.

Locked in, the images passed by me in rapid sessions before it stopped.

It was intense, I breathed raggedly from the force of the visions.

I almost didn't know what to make of what the visions were about.

All that I could immediately think of is that everyone died at the end.

Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Edward, me, and Bella...

I sat, trying to calm myself down, running through the images again.

There was going to be an uprising, the people want Aro out of power.

I had gotten glimpses and flashes of another vampire with long black hair, but I had no idea who she was.

I looked at Bella again. It was her. She was going to be the key to the uprising. I played more scenarios out, making decisions to see if I could change the outcome of Bella's involvement, but there was no outcome where Bella wasn't involved in the uprising.

I felt my chest weighing, think about how we were going to go through so much.

I sat there for probably hours, meticulously looking for an outcome that would ensure all our lives and for Aro to be defeated.

It kept coming back to the same set of decisions.

I choked back a sob.

It was going to break her heart, I was going to break her heart.

But I couldn't be selfish and sacrifice the rest of our life, everyone's life for a few short years of happiness with Bella.

I slowly let go of Bella's hand, a burning in my eyes and heaviness in my heart as I did.

Pulling out a piece of paper, I scribbled the only thing I could say to Bella before disappearing.

_I'm sorry, Bella._

* * *

I was long gone from Alaska by the time Bella woke up. I obsessively watched her through my visions to ensure she was okay.

I had to bitterly choke back the feral jealousy that coursed through me as I watched Jane come back for her, taking my Bella with her. But it was all meant to be that she was going to the Volturi.

She would be safe for now as Aro wanted her to join his team and he is nothing if at least patient.

I didn't bring my phone with me, cutting all my communication off with my family. It was only after a few days that I got visions of Rosalie ripping my arms off. I knew she was purposely making these decisions, knowing that I would see them.

I had to swallow painfully, knowing that I would full well deserve whatever she actually did to me if I could get through all of this with our life and freedom.

The pure heartbreak of abandoning Bella kept me from moving a couple of days. I wallowed in some small town, staying locked up in the hotel room obsessively watching Bella before I could get up and move on.

Taking a shuddering breath, I replayed the Visions, looking over meticulous details, trying to find out who the vampire with long black hair was.

She was important, but I had no idea where she was or how I could find her.

There were still pieces of the puzzle missing, pieces I would only get by committing through each decision. I would need to move soon as I realized that everyone in my family was searching for me.

They even reached out to Jasper to see if he could find me or had any idea where I was. They would be contacting Edward next.

I immediately left, jumping from town to town as I planned out my steps.

The visions were particular.

Everything must be followed to a tee for the outcome to become true.

Even one step out of line could jeopardize everything. I had to remind myself of that constantly as the reason to not drop everything and run back to Bella.

The first thing I needed to do was to find Helena.

Demetri's sister. 

* * *

It was another few days before I could plan my next move. I huffed, feeling the irritation of the meticulous planning.

People always thought that the visions were so easy, planning things was a walk in a park with the visions.

But they didn't realize that I had to spend a lot of time analyzing what I have seen, especially if they wanted a specific outcome.

I would need to ensure that everything was the same way I saw it, producing the exact same environment and circumstances.

If a vase was blue in my vision, then it had to be blue when the time came.

If it wasn't, it could take us to a whole new alternative path.

When I realized that I wouldn't be able to find Helena, that I would naturally bump into her a week from now, I was beside myself.

There was too much time on my hands.

If I had time to myself, then I would think of Bella.

If I thought about Bella, it felt like my heart was dropping.

I tried to not spy on her too often now. Every time I did, I would see her in the same catatonic state that she was in when Edward and the family left her.

She was going through it again, and it was my fault.

Only this time, she had Jane to help her through it.

The mere thought of it would send me into a jealous fit, so I needed to stop checking in on her.

I couldn't get anything done when that happened.

So, I did what I could, trying to wait for the week to pass. I had a flight booked to Germany three days before I was to meet Helena.

Simply lying in bed, I closed my eyes, replaying everything from the time I met Bella...

I wish I had more like she did. 

* * *

When I stepped out into the crisp air, there was a certain calmness that washed over me.

There was a familiarity in Germany, it had always been one of my favorite places to live in.

I spent years on and off staying here until I decided to settle into one place, moving when my family did.

It was when I got the vision of meeting Bella that I decided that.

I placed myself in a small house that an old woman was renting out to travelers. She looked at me as if she had seen my kind many times, but went on about her day.

I took the days slowly, hunting before I would meet Helena. She was a human feeder and could easily get the upper hand on me if I wasn't at my best. She had a power that could destroy my entire plan if I wasn't careful, I would need to rely on my visions more with her.

When the day came, I waited quietly on the outskirts of town, hiding within the trees and bushes.

We sensed each other.

Helena paused in her tracks, unsure if she should continue her path and pass me or turn to go another way.

She was flighty.

I didn't give her the chance to choose anything different, running full speed right into her direction. She felt me coming for her fast, turning around to run from me.

Being second fastest to Edward did have its advantages.

I saw her in the distance, dark brown hair whipping behind her as she ran. She turned around to see her before turning her head back forward.

I would say she looked quite similar to Demetri, they were definitely related.

"Stop!" I called out, trying to grab her attention. "I just want to talk!"

She turned her head around, brow raised at me. "People who want to talk don't chase people!"

She had a thick greek accent as she spoke, not even slowing down.

"Well, you could stop running, and I could stop chasing you, then we can talk!" I said, picking up my speed.

She must've realized that she couldn't outrun me as she came to a full stop with me stopping a could feet from her.

"What do you want?" She asked, taking in my appearance. Catching my golden eyes, she immediately knew whose coven I was from.

"You are Carlisle's coven mate," she stated.

"Family, yes," I corrected while she rolled her eyes slightly.

"What do you want?" She asked again.

I licked my lips.

"I want to talk to you about your plans."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," she denied.

I cocked my brow at her.

"Perhaps I need to be more specific then," I said. "I want to talk to you about your plan to overthrow the three kings."

Helena immediately tensed, but she stood her ground. "That would be treason, I have no such plans."

I sighed, knowing that she was going to be difficult, so I had to push further.

"I know you are Demetri's sister," I revealed. "You're both plotting and recruiting people for this cause."

I didn't expect it, but Helena barrelled into me, fangs bared as she was trying to take me out.

I reacted quickly, wrapping my legs around her torso before using my strength to flip her from me. She landed back on her feet, crouched low as she looked at me.

She pounced forward, and we traded blows. It was easy to defend what she was throwing as I would see quick snippets of her decision. I could see her getting a little frustrated that I wasn't fighting back, but she also wasn't defeated me.

It was when she tried to lock my head in close, staring right into my eyes. I saw her pupils dilate and constrict. I shut my eyes tightly, knowing if I looked in, I would be fucked.

Helena let out a disgruntled grunt, giving up on what she was trying to do, but kept my head in place.

"Who are you? How did you know?" She asked.

I kept my eyes shut as I answered, "I'm Alice, I'm a seer. I don't mean any harm. I want to help you with the uprising."

"Why?" Helena demanded.

"Because if I don't, we will all fail. My family, my mate, everything I love will be destroyed."

Helena was silent for a moment, but soon, she released me. I opened my eyes as we stood up.

She regarded me for a moment, seeing if she could trust me.

"Who is your mate?" She asked.

"Isabella Swan," I answered, watching as recognition passed through her.

"I've heard her of her. Last I heard, she is at the Volturi, mourning the loss of you."

I had to ignore the painful feeling that passed over me. "I did what I had to do to ensure everyone's future. Bella may not like it, but she will understand."

Hopefully, I added internally.

Helena licked her lips, quirking her eyebrow at me, circling me.

"You've seen me," she stated.

I nodded.

"Then you know my gift."

I nodded again.

"Yes," I said as she came into my view again. "I know you have the gift to remove memories or restore the ones you've removed. You can alter it that way."

She nodded, "Yes, it's how I've kept myself hidden from Aro all these years."

I wanted to say more to that, but I didn't, just letting Helena set the pace.

She sighed, leaning against a tree as she regarded me.

"So, Alice, what is your plan. How will you ensure our safety?"

I licked my lips lightly, smiling at her, "I know you'll be seeing Demetri in a couple weeks while he's out on his mission. You'll have to return all his memories again. Tell him that he has to convince Bella to his cause."

Helena quirked her brow again.

"Who is actually going to be on our side?"

I stemmed over the vision and options to see if telling her would change anything, but it wouldn't as she had to remove everyone's memory after she met them, and returned them when they met up.

"For now, I can see Demetri, Heidi, Bella, Jane, Alec, and Felix. If Demetri can convince Bella, she will be the one to convince, Jane, Alec, and Felix. She's the key to our success."

"Why her?"

I shrug, not revealing even though I know why. "Demetri knows, he sees something in her."

Helena nodded, clearly it was part of their conversation previously.

With the next part in the plan set, I smiled at Helena whose expression was blank.

"Alright, we'll meet up again in a few weeks time. I ask that you don't let Demetri know we've met, for now."

Helena frowned. "That doesn't seem very trustworthy of you, how can I know anything you say is the truth?"

"You don't," I tell her. "But it's the risk you have to take or risk my vision being correct, and that we all die. The future is all about circumstances. Every condition must be met for the future we want."

Helena didn't say anything, so I assumed she was going to trust me and do as I said. As I turned to leave, she called me again.

I stopped, turning to face her with a curious look.

"You know my gift," she said again, and I nodded, not sure what she wanted to go with this.

"I can see you're missing quite a large chunk of your memory," she says, staring directly into my eyes.

"Yes," I said slowly, hesitating.

She was smirking at me.

"In good faith that you are helping us, I'll give you a good tip," Helena said as she stood up straighter.

"There's someone who can help you return that part of your memories, no guarantees. It can be a hefty price to pay if she decides to help you. Last I heard she was in Forks. You want to travel there, along the reservoir and look for someone named Ava."

With that, Helena left, disappearing within seconds.

The information had me wide-eyed.

What?

I could...potentially get my memories back?

To know what had happened to me as I human?

To remember what Bella remembers?

I felt the surge of hope and a tinge of excitement.

I love Bella, I really do, with everything in me, I know I love her. I could feel the pull to her, it was engraved in my bones.

But I just...hated that she was alone, remembering everything we were. She was so happy just to make new memories if it just meant being together.

I felt like I was missing something.

Now, I had a chance.

Turning around, I bolted off.

I needed to go back to Forks.

She said along the reservoir...

That meant facing Jacob. 

* * *

**Next Time:** Back to Bella, who meets Alec. Jane needs to be sent on a two-person mission, but as Demetri isn't home yet as her usual partner and Alec is assigned to another mission, Bella volunteers. They bump into a familiar person on the job.

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone! Sorry for the late update, time just keeps slipping me lol. I've placed reminders in my calendar, so that won't happen again. We'll continue on with the schedule, so update next week sometime! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, we have hella Bella/Jane shippers out here LOL I love it! Hope to see reviews, I love reading them!

**Tumblr: missmonsters2** \- if you're unaware, I've posted many exclusive Natasha Romanoff x reader and Wanda Maximoff x reader fics on there!


	4. Chapter 4 - BELLA

**Translations: **Non ti nasconderei nulla / I wouldn't hide anything from you

* * *

**Chapter Four: BELLA**

"I think you've beaten her up enough today, Felix, how about letting her out now?"

The training stopped, and we both looked to see Jane standing at the door.

I huffed playfully.

"C'mon, I'm totally holding my own against him now," I point out.

Felix laughs and pats me on the shoulder.

"Well, it's a long way from where you started, I'll give you that."

I roll my eye as Felix dismisses me, and I walk up to Jane.

"How kind of you to pick me up," I tease her while Jane merely rolls her eyes.

"If not me, then you wouldn't even leave this room. You've got a bad habit of fixating on things I've noticed."

I gasp in mock offense, but it was totally true.

"What's up?" I ask her after a moment of falling into step with her. "You usually don't come to get me for another couple hours."

Jane's got her head tilted down, but I see that rare soft smile she hardly ever has.

"Alec is coming back from his mission today. I'd like you to meet him," she softly says.

Even dead, I feel a jitter of nervousness. Alec was clearly very important to Jane. I was nervous we might not get along.

I know he had wanted to meet me earlier on, but I had refused to leave my room.

What was he even like?

"What's wrong?" Jane asked, shaking me out of my thoughts.

"Nothing," I try to reassure her, "I'm...just a little nervous."

Jane licks her lip, my eye catching attention to it. She tentatively holds my hand.

"He will like you," Jane confidently tells me, getting me to give her a small smile.

Jane leads me down the corridors until I see a figure at the end of the hallway when we turn the corner.

"Alec!" Jane calls to him, emotion in her tone I'm not sure I've heard from her before.

Her brother turns, and I tilt my head. I suppose they are fraternal twins, but I couldn't help but think they looked nothing alike.

Alec holds his arms out, and Jane hugs him. She pulls back, inspecting him to see if he's well.

"I'm fine," Alec reassures her.

"I heard it was difficult," Jane tells him with a slight frown.

"Nothing my power can't defeat," Alec brags with a half-grin. It's then that he notices me standing a little further down.

Jane turns her attention to me as well.

"Alec, this is Isabella," Jane beckons me to come closer, and I take a cautious step forward.

A part of me is glad I'm no longer human; otherwise, my heart would've been thudding in my chest uncontrollably.

"Hello," I greet, trying to steady my voice.

Alec stares at me, studying me as if he's trying to form his opinion of me.

After a beat too long and I'm convinced he doesn't like me, he smiles.

"It's good to finally meet you," he says, sticking his hand out. "Hopefully, you've been able to handle my sister okay. She's got a bit of a stick up her ass, doesn't she?"

And when Jane elbows him in the rib, causing him to grunt, I smile.

* * *

Meeting Alec was...interesting.

He was the complete opposite of Jane. While she was more conservative in expressing herself, much more serious, Alec was boisterous.

He joked and laughed. He was much more different than I had imagined him to be.

But Jane tells me that he is only like that in private. On missions, he is as serious as she is.

Meeting Alec is a rather quick affair as, apparently, he hadn't gone to report to Aro yet. On top of that, he needed to hunt.

He bid us farewell, promising to catch up later once he's settled in.

That left Jane and me to our own devices.

She took me out to the gardens, wanting to enjoy the quiet night and clear skies.

We sat in a gazebo across from each other on the ledge, our ankles brushing against one another.

It was serene, perhaps my favorite time with Jane.

"Jane," I called softly and grabbed her attention.

It had occurred to me when talking to Alec, and suddenly I couldn't stop all the questions I wanted to ask.

"How old were you when you were turned?" I asked.

Jane tilted her head.

"No one told you how I came to be in the Volturi's guard?" She seemed a little surprised that the Cullens didn't tell me.

I shook my head.

She sighs, and I frown.

"It is not a happy story, Isabella," she warns. "On the contrary, it's quite gruesome."

"I don't care," I tell her, biting my lip. "I...I want to know you, too."

Jane stares at me, a flicker of something behind her eyes. But before I could pinpoint it, Jane turns her head out to gaze at the stars.

"Alec and I were born around 800 A.D. in England. So much time has passed, it's hard for me to even remember such a time," Jane starts.

"I was born before Alec by just a few minutes. We lived in a small town, just outside the big cities. We weren't rich by any means, but we always had enough to get by," Jane seemed to recall her past, a small hint of a smile on her lips before she started to frown.

"Even as humans, we seemed to carry our powers. As humans, they were never fully formed. It had really only started to appear when Alec and I were around the age of 12. It had started with a young boy just a year older than Alec and I. He was a horrid little thing. He used to bully Alec all the time for being so small and needing his big sister to defend him. One day, his bullying went a little too far, and something just snapped within us. The boy fell down in pain, unsure where it came from. Over the course of a week, the boy began to lose his senses. First, it was his sight, and then his hearing. It did come back eventually, but he didn't bully Alec after that."

I listened intently as Jane talked, the images in my head as vivid as though I were living it.

"Things like that had happened all time. People who were awful to my family and I were punished, bad luck following them. People who were kind to my family were blessed with fortune. Once, a man who had helped return my father when he had been injured on his travels regained use of his pinky again."

I found the story absolutely fascinating, a part of me enthralled by learning more about Jane.

"This had carried on for years, the stories about Alec and I traveled far and wide. The only problem was that people tended to be more awful to my family than good. It was so easy for them to take advantage of my kind parents. Ridicule us for being different. At 17, the king had heard of us, was frightened by us. Even the locals were afraid of the superstition of us. The king declared us to be witches and sentenced my entire family to death."

There was dark anger in Jane's eyes, the way her jaw clenched as she recalled the memory.

"We didn't know until it was too late. Soldiers marched into our town, the townsfolk joining along with their pitchforks. As you probably know, witches were to be burned at the stake."

I wanted to gasp, a painful fear spiking in me as I imagined the pain Jane was about to go through.

"My parents were beheaded, spared the pain of having to watch their children die. Alec doesn't recall much. I believe the smoke may have affected him much faster than I. But I remember the burning pain of the fire grasping at my feet before catching fire at my clothes. It was a slow death. I remember cursing my village for doing this to us. I suspect that is how my powers honed as I was changed."

Jane turned back to face me, her expression blank.

"We were saved by Aro. He had known about us through a passing nomad years ago. He wanted to come to meet us when we were older for a chance to be turned and join his guard as back then, we were too young, and immortal children were forbidden. But he had come across someone who knew about our execution and rushed to the village just in time before the fire killed us. Our town no longer existed after that. Everyone, even the soldiers sent by the king, was gone."

As Jane finished her story, I couldn't help but recall her words when she was in my bedroom the first time I met her.

_"Humans are the real monsters. They kill and destroy things they don't understand or don't agree with. They'll seek to end rather than understand. Sure, you get the special one here and there who are different, but the majority of the human race is cowards. That's why amongst your kind, you have racism, or gay people don't have equal rights. These "minorities" are beaten or killed. Anything different is killed."_

It makes so much more sense now, and I couldn't help but feel sorrow for her.

"So, to answer your question, Isabella, I was turned at 17," Jane half-quirked her lip.

It made sense to me why Jane had felt loyalty to Aro, yet I couldn't help but feel something was off.

I wasn't sure what to say to Jane, she was right to say that it was a gruesome tale.

I hesitantly got up and crawled to her, where she let me lie between her legs on her thigh.

She didn't move at first, and I was sure she was most certainly frowning.

"Thank you," I tell her quietly, "Thank you for telling me."

It quiet, and moments pass before I feel her stroke my hair.

"_Non ti nasconderei nulla_," she said softly of words I didn't understand.

* * *

I sighed.

Felix was occupied with something else today, and that meant no training session for me today.

I was beginning to hate having so much time as a vampire. At least sleep had let me pass the time.

Jane was out with Alec. They had invited me along, but it was so long since Jane had seen him that I wanted her to fully be able to spend time with him, so I had declined.

I pursed my lip, thinking about what I could do.

I could always call Rosalie. She had expressed that she had wanted me to do so once I had gotten a phone.

And I did, very soon after, but still hadn't called.

I was such an asshole, but everything had reminded me too much of Alice.

But I sighed, pulling my phone out from my drawer.

I dialed Rosalie on FaceTime.

She picked up almost instantly, looking relieved when she saw my face.

_"Hey," _she cautiously greeted.

I smiled a little at her.

"Hey," I greeted back.

_"I was beginning to think you'd never call,"_ she cocked her brow at me, and I gave her a sheepish grin.

"Better late than never," I supplied.

Sometimes, even as a vampire myself, it amazed me to see Rosalie still looking perfect, the exact way I remembered her. Though, it looked like she dyed her hair a darker hue.

I looked in the background to see trees.

"Where are you?"

_"Hunting grounds. I saw you call and thought you might want a little quiet. Otherwise, you'd get the entire family trying to squish their face onto the camera to see you."_

I chuckled softly at that.

_"What's left of the family anyways," _Rosalie sighed, and I felt a pin stab my undead heart.

"I guess Edward or Jasper hasn't returned?"

I didn't dare ask about Alice.

Rosalie shook her head. _"No, but we did finally manage to get in touch with them. They've been traveling to see if they can find Alice, but...no such luck."_

I didn't say anything to that, her name so easily making it feel like a painful thud in my chest.

I knew that they wouldn't be able to find her, and I'm sure Rosalie knew as well.

If they could not find her, it's because Alice didn't want to be found. Her visions would easily help her avoid anyone.

_"Any chance you'll come home soon?" _Rosalie asked softly, and I shook my head.

"No, things are still difficult for me. I've only started to feel like I can breathe again."

_"You're a vampire, you don't need to breathe."_

I gave her a pointed look through the camera.

_"What really happened, Bella?"_ Rosalie asked, her tone gentle, desperate to know what happened to have made me run.

The sound of my own name, causing tremors in my fingers.

I screwed my eyes shut, trying to remind myself that moment was long gone.

I shouldn't let it so violently affect me.

"She said she chose me," I rasp after a long moment.

"After all the teetering she had done, had left me in limbo, she said she chose me. She said she loved me, slept with me, changed me, and then left me," I hissed, the residual anger seeping into my tone.

"And that destroyed me," I confessed. "So, I ran. I ran to a place I know she wouldn't come to. A place where nothing reminds me of her."

That wasn't entirely true. Sometimes I was reminded of the fact of how badly Aro wanted Alice to be a part of his guard.

_"And do you think you're safe there?"_ Rosalie asked as she listened to me. She was frowning, and I knew she was upset to learn what Alice had done to me.

I paused.

Honestly, I wasn't sure how I felt about Aro. I knew he was lenient with me for my gift and wanted to recruit me as well. He was trying to slowly seduce me to his guard.

"Jane keeps me safe," I tell her.

I saw Rosalie scrunch her nose at the mention of Jane, and that made me chuckle.

_"I honestly do not understand you with that hobbit,"_ Rosalie sighed.

I merely shrugged. I'm sure no one except maybe Marcus could understand the relationship Jane and I had.

_"Have you gone on any missions?" _Rosalie asked, a serious look on her face.

I shook my head.

"No, but I'm sure I will have to soon."

_"Bella, I wish you would reconsider coming home,"_ Rosalie tried again.

I didn't respond to that, and I could tell it was frustrating Rosalie.

_"The longer you stay there, the more involved you get with politics and duties," _Rosalie warned, _"If you must go on a mission, that means you may have to kill another vampire. Do you think you're equipped to handle that? To see someone and fight them knowing the outcome is they must die?"_

It made me pause.

Because truthfully, I wasn't sure if I could. Perhaps if I felt my life was being threatened, but I wasn't sure if I agreed with the laws set by Aro. I've seen cases where I thought it was a grey area and believed death wasn't the answer.

But Rosalie was right, the longer I stayed, the more involved I would be.

"I will think about it," I told Rosalie, seeing a relieved look on her face.

I promised her I would, but I knew I was in no emotional state ready to return.

_"Alright, I'll let you go now, but please call more often. Make sure to call Esme too. She worries about you,"_ Rosalie brushed her hair behind her ear.

I nodded, bidding Rosalie goodbye before hanging up.

Even though I couldn't train with Felix today, there were small exercises I could do to keep me busy. It wasn't until hours later that I heard a knock on my door that I stopped practicing.

Jane came in, looking amused with me.

"I couldn't get into the room, were you practicing your shield?" She asked as she took a seat.

I nodded, smiling at her.

"Yes, it gets much better each day. I...I think I could remove my shield from you...so that you're no longer blocked by Aro..." I trailed off. I know Jane had grown accustomed to privacy ever since I had projected my mental shield on her.

Jane seemed conflicted. It would probably be best to remove it. Eventually, I would have to anyways once Aro realized my progress in training.

Jane was about to answer when the landline phone in my room rang.

Every room had a landline service, and the sole purpose of it was so that one person could reach everyone.

Jane picked up the phone.

"Yes, we're in here together...alright, as you wish."

Putting back down the phone, Jane turned to me.

"Aro wishes to see us. He's waiting in his throne room."

I frowned slightly, wondering what it was he wanted. He had left me alone for the most part since my arrival, but I'm sure he had heard I had left my room to begin training.

Jane held her hand out to me, and I grabbed it. The feeling of her soft hand always soothed me.

She pulled me up, her eyes darted to me, and she made the split decision to brush her lips on the back of my hand.

"Come, Isabella," she drawled.

We walked hand-in-hand to the throne room, and when we entered in. I saw Alec there, as well.

I gave him a small smile to which he nodded.

"Isabella," Aro smiled, "you are looking well."

I nodded gracefully to Aro. My eyes caught Marcus's to the side, his head tilted as he caught Jane and mine's conjoined hands. My mind immediately wandered back to our conversation in his garden.

But there wasn't time to really think about it more when Aro clapped.

"I've asked you three here because I need to send you all on a mission," Aro started off. "Demetri sent word that he's having difficulties on his mission with capturing the troublesome newborn wreaking havoc in Germany. He's requesting backup as he says there could be more than one. I need this handled promptly as news outlets are picking things up."

It made sense as to why he was sending all three of us, and I tilted my head.

"This will be a wonderful opportunity to see Isabella's progress, Felix has high hopes for you," Aro smiled, the sight sending chills down my spine.

I was going on a mission faster than I imagined I would, right after I had that conversation with Rosalie.

I gulped.

Jane noticed.

She bowed her head to the three kings.

"Of course, we will be leaving promptly then," she answered for all three of us, and I quickly followed her actions.

Once we left, Jane barked orders at some receptionist to organize the private jet for us.

She didn't say anything to me until we were boarding the plane.

We sat quietly in the back while Alec was listening to music in the front to relax. I felt for him since he had only just returned from his own mission.

Jane turned to me, her hand falling on top of mine.

"Isabella," she said quietly as if she wanted only me to hear what she was saying, "I understand it's your first mission, but I want you to focus on just using your shield for us."

She didn't say anything else, but I understood what she was doing, a soft smile covering my lips.

Jane was still protecting me, even from silly things like I was afraid of having to kill.

"Okay," I told her, my hand flipping over so I could interlace our fingers.

I saw Alec staring subtly at the action from the front.

"Let's bring that idiot home," Jane murmured, letting herself hold my hand tighter.

* * *

**A/N: Honestly, I had to reread a lot of old twilight fics to conjure up inspiration to come back, but I think I can hold onto this for spit out a couple more chapters in the next coming weeks. Mostly due to quarantine. I hope everyone has been okay during this time! **

**Next Time: Jane, Bella, and Alec meet up to save Demetri, but it seems that Demetri has lured them out for more than just help. **

**Thank you, everyone, so much for the reviews. I really do appreciate every single one. My heart races when I get a notification for a review. The reviews really keep me going and make sure I keep my promises to never abandon a fic. Not sure if anyone reads the author notes but if you do, hope ya send some reviews my way again. What do you hope for in the next couple of chapters between Bella/Jane and Bella/Alice?**

**See you in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5 - BELLA

**Chapter Five: BELLA**

It was cold in Germany, and I could smell in it the air that it would snow soon.

Jane had given me a hooded cape, and I had honestly felt a little weird wearing it, but I supposed it helped me blend in a little more.

We had gotten the coordinates to where Demetri would be as we ran our way there.

I'm not sure why, but I could feel something was off.

The area was quiet for supposedly multiple newborns to be causing trouble. I think Jane had noticed as well when we made eye contact.

It wasn't until we were in a forest, the trees well spread apart that we bumped into Demetri, who was waiting for us.

No signs of trouble.

"What is the meaning of this, Demetri? Aro said you called in for backup," Jane stared at him, frowning, her eyes looking around.

"You're right," Demetri nodded, smiling, "I did call for back up, and there are couple rampant newborns left still hiding from me."

"Then why are we just standing here?" Jane huffed.

Demetri didn't answer her. Instead, he turned his attention to me.

"You look well, Isabella, better than when I had seen you last," Demetri's eyes traveled down my entire being to observe me.

I nodded, unsure what to say.

"I called you out here because I wanted a chance to talk to Isabella, without interruptions and eyes," Demetri revealed.

I scrunched my brows together while Jane frowned deeper.

Demetri paced to the left, his hands behind his back.

"Do you know what the purpose of the Volturi is?" He asked, looking at me.

"To...keep the vampire race safe and secret," I answered slowly.

Demetri nodded, but asked another question, "And do you know how people are brought to the Volturi guardship?

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to answer, but Demetri continued on.

"People, only special people, are found by Aro," Demetri stood still. I could understand his underlying words of special.

Gifted.

Gifted vampires are found by Aro.

"And when you're invited to the Volturi's guardship, do you think you can say no?"

"Demetri," Jane growled his name in warning.

"Have you met Chelsea?" He asked, completely ignoring Jane.

My eyes briefly traveled to Jane's before I looked back at Demetri.

"I have," I answered, unsure of what Demetri wanted to say to me.

"Do you know what her job is? Why she's so important to Aro?"

I could hear a rumbling in Jane's chest.

"Let me tell you a story," Demetri suddenly steers, not paying attention to Jane.

I looked over to Alec to see that he was standing as still as a rock, quiet but frowning.

"History truly never changes. Even as old as time, assassins existed. A young boy and his sister, who had nothing, belonged to _nothing_, found their way in the world by doing the dirty work of others." Demetri kept his distance as he spoke, I wasn't sure why, but I felt like he was doing it on purpose.

"And when they were changed, they wanted to leave that behind. They settled into a nice little Egyptian coven, free to live their days," Demetri held a dark self-deprecating smirk, "or so they thought."

"The thing about being the best tracker there is that while they can hunt down their target, they always know when they're about to be hunted down themselves."

It was just an inkling of a feeling, but now I had confirmation Demetri was talking about himself.

My mind was reeling, taking in the information as I listened. The look on Jane's face told me she didn't seem to know this version of the story either.

"The Volturi were coming. This wasn't an invitation; this was a hunt. And so his sister wouldn't be taken back to the life they tried to leave behind, he hid her. He hid her, forgot about her, and with one look into Chelsea's eyes, he followed without even looking back," Demetri rasped out.

"_Demetri_, don't you dare speak another word," Jane warned, but Demetri acted as if he couldn't even see her.

"So, Isabella, do you understand?" He asked.

I wasn't sure how to respond.

Because, yes, I do believe I understood what Demetri was trying to tell me.

Chelsea's gift.

It was somehow making people loyal to the Volturi.

But what did he want me to do?

He stared at me.

"But you're different," Demetri slowly said, "you aren't affected by her power or any of ours."

The clearing was silent as the wind blew harshly. Demetri's red eyes stared at me.

"You'll be why Aro falls. You will be why we will have freedom."

"That's _treason_!" Jane hissed at him. "You _fool_! Don't bring Isabella into your crimes. Do you not understand that if we don't report this, it is punishable by death!"

It was all happening so fast. One moment, Jane was berating Demetri, and then the next, the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly rose.

It was like an electric sizz in the air, and I turned to Jane, leaping into her seconds before someone came out of the trees, trying to barrel into Jane.

I immediately pulled up, looking at another red-eyed vampire with long russet hair. She was barring her teeth at Jane, growling.

"I told you this wasn't a good idea!" She snapped at Demetri. "I have to make her forget."

She seemed to want to try to take advantage of the momentary confusion in Jane, leaping towards us again, but she hit my shield. Shock registered on her face, and that was enough to snap Jane out of her stupor.

The stranger before us fell, screaming in pain.

Alec started emitting a cloud of black smoke from his hands, slowly crawling towards her.

"Stop!" Demetri started yelling. "_Stop!_ That's my sister!"

But Jane and Alec weren't listening anymore, only looking to eliminate the threat in front of them.

But I caught the look on paralyzed fear and desperation on Demetri's face and put my hand on Jane's shoulder.

Her eyes shifted to look at me before she sighed frustratingly but stopped using her gift.

"Alec," she called with a frown on her face but nodded at her brother.

The smoke receded, going back into Alec's hands. The vampire in front of us heaved painfully, palms dragging across the ground before she stumbled her way up again. Demetri zipped to her, lifting her arm over his shoulder to support her.

"Explain, Demetri," Jane's face was stony, "n_ow._"

I helped Jane up as Alec got closer with a frown.

"This," Demetri breathed, "is my sister, Helena."

I looked over at her, immediately noticing the resemblance between them right away. The same shade of hair, similar cheekbones, and even dimples.

"How is that possible?" Jane asked with a scrunch of her brows. "Aro would have known about her, known what you were planning."

It was assumed that Demetri didn't just wake up today, wanting to overthrow the kings. No, this was something he must've been planning for a long time now.

His sister seemed better as she stood upright on her own.

"My gift is being able to remove and restore memories," she rasped, glaring at Jane slightly.

And then it made sense to me.

"She makes you forget about her," I said in realization as I looked over at Demetri and he nodded grimly.

"She has to find me again when I'm out on missions, fight me until she can hold me down long enough to restore my memories. It's tedious, but it keeps us safe."

It was shocking, but it made sense.

If Demetri has his memory taken, even if Aro did read his mind, what Demetri isn't even aware happened, can't be shown to Aro either.

It was a loophole.

"_Why?_" Jane emphasized, looking at Demetri. "Why would you want an uprising? Just because you want to leave doesn't mean you should doom the rest of us."

"You are a fool if you think Aro will let any of us leave. Isabella is only as lucky as she is to have the choice to join or not due to her relations with Carlisle. Otherwise, do you genuinely believe Aro would let her go?"

"Her powers work against Chelsea," Jane pointed out.

"Which leaves her open to having Aro order her death if she rebels against him."

Jane didn't say anything in return.

"Aro and Caius are power-hungry. Our royalty and leaders should be about protecting the vampire race, not controlling it. It should be just and fair, not manipulative," Demetri passionately shares.

"They get the job done," Jane points out. "Protecting and controlling is a fine line."

"Aro protected us, saved us," Alec pointed out.

I'm sure this was difficult for her because she and Alec felt in debt to Aro for saving them.

Demetri snorted with a roll of his eyes.

"You are absolute fools if you believe Aro saved you," He nearly sneered at them.

"Watch it," Jane growled.

"Do you truly believe he saved you?"

"I remember Aro coming in to snuff out the flames and stop those barbarics," Jane glared.

Demetri shook his head.

"Who do you think spread the rumors about the two of you? Who do you think reported you to the king?"

Demetri stepped up, getting up into Jane's face.

"You think he came just in time to save you? Think again, he stood there watching the execution, deciding when it was to step in."

I stood there with wide eyes, but Jane was clenching her jaw so hard I thought her teeth would break.

Alec stood there, shaking his head in denial as if he couldn't believe it.

"_Liar!_" Jane snarled at him, pushing him back.

"You think so?" Demetri humorlessly chuckled. "Should I bring you the nomad Aro used to find you. Maybe we can get Edward to read his mind and tell you what really happened during that time."

Jane didn't say anything, but she was barely holding it in as Demetri spoke.

I grabbed her hand, stroking the back of her hand with my thumb. She gripped my hand back, and I knew if I was still human, she would've broken it.

"_Enough,_" I told Demetri sternly.

He looked at me, looked back at Jane and sighed, shooting her a look of apology, but she still glared at him.

"I get it, Aro is...on a power trip," I said delicately for Jane. "What do you want me to do about it? What does that even have to do with me?"

Demetri looked at me, licking his lips with a somber look.

"Aro cares about his position, about ensuring he is always at the top. Either his threats join him or be executed," Demetri repeated, and I nodded.

I got that loud and clear already.

"The last time Aro came into contact with the Cullens regarding the newborn army disturbance, he touched Alice. While he did see the visions of Isabella becoming a vampire, he also saw The Cullens becoming more of a threat," he explained.

There was a thump of a dull pain when Demetri said Alice's name, but this sounded serious, so I had to push that aside to keep listening.

"Your _family_," Demetri started, "grows bigger and bigger, each time with more gifted people. Your gift, Isabella, makes your family impenetrable, along with Alice, Edward, and Jasper. Carlisle is already a renowned vampire amongst our kind. Not to mention, you have extended relations with different covens like The Denali."

"They don't threaten The Volturi's way of living," I shook my head. I knew The Denali feared to break The Volturi's rules, experiencing the punishment first hand already.

"For now," Demetri rebutted back. "But it draws the attention of your coven. It's not about what you haven't done, it's about what you could do. Aro wants Alice more than anything. You, Edward, and Jasper are just pretty prizes along the way. The fact that you all exist in one coven threatens Aro. If, for whatever reason, your coven had to fight The Volturi, Aro knows he would lose."

"What are you saying?" I clenched my jaw, dread filling my stomach.

"The Cullens are weak and vulnerable right now with your coven split up. Aro is planning something but has set out Afton to look for someone who can put an end to the Cullens. Chelsea cannot influence emotional ties between people who share a true bond. But do you understand what position that would leave the remaining people left in your coven? What position that might put you in? If there's no family to feel loyal to, that makes them susceptible to Chelsea's gift."

I felt like the wind was being knocked out of me. Demetri was spelling it out to me clear as day.

"What...what am I supposed to do?" I put my hand to my forehead.

"Fight this war with us, Isabella," Helena jumped in. "Our whole lives, we spent doing the dirty work of politicians and assassinating people. We've seen how a corrupted government affects the world. You may want to fight to save your family, but Demetri and I want to protect our race. Aro may respect and value Carlisle, but no more than his own ambitions. Carlisle is the voice of reason."

I still didn't understand, not really.

"In the grand scheme of things," Helena explained, "if there's no one to oppose Aro, the next step is to try to overcome the humans. Caius would be on board. In the beginning, our existence was so small, humans would overpower us. We had no choice but to live in the shadows and become myths and legends. But now? Aro has gathered some of the most powerful vampires. Jane and Alec's gift alone overwhelms an army of thousands. Aro and Caius don't believe we should live in the shadow when we're the stronger species."

"That's crazy," Jane spat. "Humans advance every single day. Even in Carlisle's day, they were hunting vampires. Their weapons and technology advance as seconds past. They could develop a weapon to destroy us all."

Helena nodded.

"Why do you think he wants Alice and Isabella?"

Jane frowned, holding my hand more tightly.

I stood there, feeling paler than ever, even with my vampire skin. I was no seer, but I felt like I could see our very future being destroyed.

"How..." I spoke softly. "How do we stop this?"

Demetri nodded while Helena looked relieved.

"We need to gather people. A revolution is nothing without people. We need to find someone who will lead in place of Aro, Caius, and Marcus. Even though vampires are strong, we're unstable, someone will still need to enforce the laws." Demetri spoke.

"Marcus?" I mumbled. Marcus didn't strike me the same as Aro and Caius.

Demetri shrugged. "He's merely bound to The Volturi by Chelsea. I don't believe he's a threat, but even if he was released, he might still want to follow his Didyme to the afterlife."

I bit my lip. I would think about Marcus later.

"Who do you think would join our cause?" Alec spoke up.

"Alec!" Jane called to him, and he looked at her, shaking his head.

"Jane, I will always be grateful for Aro changing us, but that doesn't change the fact that he may be the reason we were up on those stakes in the first place. That doesn't change the reason we had to watch our parents get beheaded."

Jane sighed but didn't say anything.

"So far, beside Helena and I, my mate Heidi, will join our cause. I haven't brought her into this yet because I don't want Aro to read her."

"I think...I think Felix would join us," I spoke hesitantly.

"Why do you think that?" Helena spoke with a raise of her brow.

"I just have a feeling, I will ask him to go into town with me, and if it doesn't work out, then you can do...your memory thing," I shrugged, and Helena nodded.

I looked over at Jane. She looked at me with imploring eyes.

"Jane," I called softly, "I understand if you don't to be an active part of this. You can decide whether or not to let Helena erase your memory, or if you want me to keep shielding you. But I can't let my family die."

It was implied that I believed that she understood the cause, but maybe it would be too difficult for her to go against Aro, someone she has been loyal to for years.

"We can let her potentially rat us out," Helena said in disbelief, but I glared at Helena.

"I _know_ Jane wouldn't," I barked back but provided no explanation. "I can always find a way to protect my family, but if you want me to help you, then you will not force Jane to do anything."

But it was then that Jane grabbed both my hands.

"No," she said after a moment, drawing everyone's attention. "If what they're saying is true, then we're all at risk. If humans find out about us, we will all die."

I nodded. Jane was duty-bound, and I know she took pride in her work. But there was a hint of a look behind her eye that I wasn't sure what she was truly doing for.

Demetri let out a big sigh of relief. "Alright, we need to split up the work. Unfortunately, Isabella, you will have to do a lot of the work because Helena will need to take mine and Alec's memory until we can regroup again. Jane can keep hers because it's not suspicious of her to be shielded by you at this point."

I nodded, turning back to him.

"There's a Romanian cove you will need reach out to. They were the original ruling cove before they were overthrown, so they will join this cause," Demetri advised me, and I pursed my lips.

"Are you considering them as the ruling coven again?"

Demetri shrugged his shoulders. "That will have to be decided later down the line, but for now, they will fight."

I nodded once more. It was a start, I suppose.

"Isabella, you will need to be very careful when gathering people," Demetri warned. "If Aro even catches a whiff of this, even from other vampires, we'll be destroyed. Find people you trust."

I licked my lip. Anxiety filled me, but the need to protect the people I cared about outweighed everything.

Demetri offered his arm out, and I did the same as he clasped my arm, smiling at me.

"I knew you were the one from the moment I saw you," he softly said.

Before I could say anything else, he let go and grabbed Alec and Helena away so his sister could erase their memories.

"When we come to, we won't remember any of this. I will only remember having called Aro for backup and waiting for you here. Alec will only remember arriving in this clearing. You'll need to act as if you just came, and we're about to look for the newborns," Demetri told us.

Jane waved her hand, dismissively at Demetri as they walked off. We caught the end of Demetri explaining how Helena's power worked.

I felt the tension leaving my shoulders, but I still sighed as I rubbed my forehead.

"It's never a boring day with you," Jane quietly said. Her face held no emotion, but I could tell she was gently teasing me to help me feel better.

"Yeah, revolutions are actually my boring activities," I joked weakly back, enjoying when Jane chuckled softly.

"What's the first step you'll take?" Jane asked after a moment.

I sucked in my bottom lip, biting on it as I contemplated.

"Demetri said to find people, people I trust nonetheless," I repeated, running my hand through my hair. "I'm going to request Aro to visit The Cullens. He will say yes since it's only temporary."

"You're going to tell them?" Jane questioned. I could tell she was wary.

I nodded. "They're the ones being targeted, they should know. Carlisle's network is more prominent than mine anyway. He can recruit people without being so closely watched."

Jane nodded in agreement. "Demetri said Aro had sent Afton to go find someone who could eliminate The Cullens, we need to find out who that is and find him before Afton does."

We heard a small grunt and looked over to see that Helena had Alec's face on her hand as she stared intently at him.

I could see Jane was struggling from wanting to go over there to protect her brother.

I covered Jane's hand with my own, and she looked up at me.

It was like Demetri and Alec were in a catatonic state as their memories were disappearing. We stood to get into position so we could act as if we just got into the clearing. Helena dragged her brother off to the other side.

My eyes caught Helena, and she nodded stiffly at me before she disappeared into the trees.

"Ready?" I whispered to Jane.

"I hate this idiot," Jane mumbled.

* * *

Everything went smoothly once Demetri and Alec woke from their stupor. Jane and I jumped in right away to help the smooth transition that we just got here.

Hunting the newborns was a little tricky. It seemed one of them had a similar gift of evasion like Victoria, but no one could escape Demetri's tracking.

They were ravaged, the blood of humans all over them. It didn't even seem to register with them what they were doing. I had nearly felt bad for them, but in the distance, I could smell blood in a tiny cottage where we found them. Inside, there was a murdered family of four. Some of them were children, and any pity I felt disappeared.

Killing, for the most part, was avoided on my end. I did have to fight a couple of times because they were blindly fighting when Alec deprived them of their senses.

When I threw newborns towards Jane, she immobilized them with her gift while Demetri ripped their heads off.

It was a good time for me to practice shielding everyone. Since we were in a tightly confined space of the cottage, and we avoided wanting the newborns breaking out where they could run from us, we had to fight inside. The cottage was so small that Alec's power filled the entire space, just trying to affect the newborns. It feels like my training had paid off since I could extend it to all of us, so our senses weren't deprived.

We were getting ready to leave. Jane went to get the jet for us while Demetri and Alec went to call Aro.

I had volunteered to set fire for the limbs myself, so we could leave faster.

As they were burning, I felt someone appear. I looked over to see Helena. She stood with me in the silence.

"It must be hard," I said, turning back to the fire. "To live this way with Demetri. To see him, but unable to do anything."

She could sense the empathy in my voice as she turned to look at the fire as well.

"Yes," she breathed.

"Hopefully when we win this war, you two will be able to choose the way you want to live," I smiled slightly at her, remembering their story.

She merely looked at me.

"Everyone says you're the key. I can sort of understand what Demetri sees in you," she softly spoke as well.

I could sense Jane was returning.

"Isabella," she called to me, grabbing my attention. I looked questioningly at her.

"You are incredibly lucky," she said, and I tilted my head.

"Why?" I asked.

We could see Jane returning in the distance.

Helena's eyes returned to mine.

"Just remember to be more forgiving. More than your pain, lives are at stake. It's better to sacrifice a little for the long run than to sacrifice everything for the short run."

I furrowed my brows, but before I could ask Helena what she meant by that, she ran off, disappearing.

Jane came up to me, catching the end of Helena leaving.

"What was that?" She asked, but I looked where Helena ran off to.

"Advice, I guess?" I said unsurely.

Jane quirked her brow but said nothing.

"Ready to return?" I asked her, smiling lightly.

Jane nodded, looking relieved as it's been a long day.

"Yes, we just need to get the idiot in tow."

"You're pretty convinced he's an idiot," I teased, and she looked at me, coking her brow once more.

"And you're not?" She asked.

I shrugged as we made our way to the plane.

"I mean, he's survived this long."

"Not without help," Jane mumbled, and I chuckled.

It would probably be a long time before Jane and I had quiet moments.

The moment we stepped foot in Italy, the war would only just begin.

* * *

**A/N:** *gets random surge for twilight* All these old fics I'm reading really do be bringing up feelings. Though I wish there were more beliice fics LOL

**Next time: Bella and Jane return back to Italy, just to both return to where Bella dreads. Alaska, where The Cullens are. Questions are raised and everyone quickly finds they have no time to waste.**

For the most part, it's split between people being on the Bella/Jane train, and people still rooting for Bella/Alice. I would say Alice makes her appearance in two chapters, and it will be chaotic as FUCK. You will be shooketh. Bella will be shook. There will be groveling, jealousy, and fighting.

**Floatdown:** LOL yes, I'm purposely making Jane soft and amazing to make it harder for everyone to decide who to ship LOL THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE. But whomst will it be?

**Piccolodian**: Good to see you friend!

**Power Taco:** You went OFF and I'm HERE for it LOL! I'm curious to what your thoughts will be when Alice returns and points will be made on both Alice and Bella's end. Jane is definitely at an advantage since she was not put in the position Alice was in. Bella will have lots to think about.

**thatdamnyank:** omg thank you for your review! I totally get it. I love that you want a happy ending for everyone LOL I hope you're okay during quarantine and you get through your writer's block! I've definitely been there.

I wish I could reply to everyone, but trying to get this chapter up before I fall asleep. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I think this fandom and ship has gotten a little quiet, but seriously, thank you. The reviews really are so fun to read and make me incredibly happy. I'm trying really hard to write this story and finish it since it's what we all deserve. Hope to see you all in the reviews again.

What type of vampire do you think has the gift that could eliminate The Cullens? What do you wish to see when Alice returns?


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